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Like many other vegetables, cucumbers are often planted in the garden as seedlings. Thanks to this, you can get a fresh harvest earlier, and the plants themselves will better withstand stress.
Cucumber seedlings develop faster and suffer less from pests and specific diseases. However, to achieve good results, you need to properly germinate the seeds at home. Further, you can see photos and videos with practical recommendations for beginners.
How to choose seeds for planting
There are different types of seeds on the market. They differ in the method of processing, and therefore their preparation for sowing will vary.
- Normal. Such seeds must be calibrated by hand before planting. Immediately discard small and uneven. Seeds of the correct form are dipped in salt water: the good ones will sink to the bottom. Floating seedlings will not give and they should not be taken for seedlings. The next stage of processing is washing the tested seeds with fresh water and drying.
- calibrated. To germinate, such seeds necessarily require moisture and heat. First, they are wrapped in wet gauze or cloth and left at a temperature of about 30 degrees. As soon as the seed has given a root, it is immediately planted in the soil.
- Processed. Such seeds are already prepared for sowing, they can be sown directly in open ground. Bactericidal and antifungal preparations are applied on their surface with a very thin layer.
- Granular. These seeds are also protected by special preparations. In addition, they are covered with a layer of nutrient that will improve the development of seedlings.
When choosing seeds for planting in 2021, it is also important to consider the purpose of the fruit. Hybrids give a bountiful harvest, but their fruits cannot be used for harvesting seeds for the next season. For blanks, you can plant special pickling or universal varieties. Salad varieties are chosen for direct use for seedlings, and miniature fruits of gherkin cucumbers can be harvested daily.
How to choose the right soil
In order for seedlings to actively grow and develop in 2021, it needs suitable soil. It should be light and loose so that oxygen and moisture can reach the roots. The balance of soil components is also important. The soil should not contain larvae, fungi and other microorganisms that can damage the growth of the plant.
To prepare the soil for seedlings, the following components are mixed in equal proportions:
- sand;
- peat;
- humus;
- sod soil.
All these components must be thoroughly mixed. To enrich the soil and saturate it with nutrients, it is recommended to add a little sawdust, a glass of ash, a teaspoon of urea and the same amount of nitrophoska (based on 10 kg of soil).
Before planting seeds in the soil, it must be disinfected. You can do it yourself by steaming. The soil is poured onto a grid with small cells and kept over boiling water for 30 minutes. Then you need to let the earth cool and spread it into containers for seedlings.
Also, to disinfect the soil, you can use a solution of potassium permanganate (regarding the concentration, the water should turn crimson). Pour the soil with this composition before sowing the seeds and wait for it to dry.
We choose the time for sowing seeds for seedlings
For sowing seeds for seedlings in 2021, it is important to choose the right time. If this is done late, the sprout will not have time to get stronger before planting in the ground. And if you sow the seeds too early, the plants will stand, stretch out and, after planting, will bear less fruit. It also happens that seedlings overexposed at home simply do not take root in the ground. Therefore, it is important to monitor both the growth conditions of cucumbers and the timing.
You will need to prepare plastic cups or special peat containers. As can be seen in the photo and video, they are filled with earth, two germinated seeds are placed at a depth of about 3 cm. Then they are poured with warm water and covered with a film. When they germinate, the film is removed.
Planting seeds in two is necessary to ensure the desired number of seedlings. When sprouts appear with unfolded cotyledon leaves, the weaker plant is removed. Otherwise, due to the struggle for sunlight and moisture, both sprouts will begin to weaken. In order not to damage the delicate roots of the second plant, the stem is carefully pinched off at the soil level. The rest of the sprout will decompose over time.
Seedlings must be planted in individual pots, as shown in the photo and video. Cucumber does not like it very much when its roots are injured, and it is unlikely that this will be avoided during transplantation. Even if the plant takes root in the garden, it will subsequently bear less fruit. Therefore, cucumber seedlings are always planted directly with the ground or in a biodegradable pot. To do this, they buy peat tablets or make paper containers on their own.
Germinated seedling care
After the seeds germinate, they need to be fed. For the procedure, it is better to leave the morning time when it is clear outside.
- When the first leaf has opened, it’s time to apply ammonium nitrate.
- After 14 days, phosphorus-potassium top dressing can be used, it is diluted at a concentration of 50 g per 10 liters of water.
Pots with freshly sown seeds are best kept at a temperature of about 25 degrees. When the sprouts sprout, the temperature must be lowered to 20 degrees. Otherwise, the seedlings will quickly go up, and then wither.
A week before landing in the ground, the temperature must be lowered even more – to 18 degrees. Sprouts need “hardening”. To do this, they are sometimes taken out to the balcony, but seedlings should not be left in direct sunlight.
Cucumbers need sunlight. You will have to take care of lighting especially in cloudy weather. To accelerate the development of plants, use fluorescent lamps or special fitolamps. They are attached above the seedlings at a distance of 5 cm. As the cucumbers grow, the lamps are raised. For home seedlings, one or two lamps with a power of 40-80 watts will be enough.
In cloudy weather, artificial lighting is required for sprouts throughout the day. And in sunny weather, it is enough to turn on the lamps in the morning from 7 to 10 o’clock, and in the evening from 4 to 6 o’clock.
Is it possible to save pale seedlings
When growing seedlings with your own hands at home, it is not uncommon for the stems to stretch out and the sprout itself to become pale. This happens if the light or temperature conditions are incorrectly selected for plants.
In order for the seedlings to develop properly, you need to lower the temperature and make the lighting more intense. For cucumbers in this case, 15 degrees will be enough. For better illumination, containers with seedlings should be placed a little further apart so that they do not block the light from others with leaves. On the windowsill, it is worth installing mirrors on the side and on top so that the sunlight is reflected on the sprouts. If necessary, it is worth installing phytolamps above the soil, which are shown in the photo and video.
Even if the stems are too long, the seedlings can be planted in a garden bed on the site. In order for it to take root well in a new place, the soil must be warm and moderately moist. There are two ways to plant a plant:
- place in the ground deeper, right up to the cotyledon leaves;
- sprinkle with loose, warm soil on top.
If weak seedlings have to be planted in unheated soil, the soil around the plant should be covered with a dark-colored perforated film. It does not prevent the evaporation of excess liquid and provides heating of the roots. Thanks to this, the part of the stem that is in the ground will put up additional roots that will support weak seedlings. Over time, it will get stronger and form a full-fledged healthy bush.
What if the seedlings bloomed
Cucumber seedlings begin to flower very quickly. The video shows that plants can still pick up buds on the windowsill. Strong seedlings will not suffer from this.
With weakened seedlings, the situation is different. Here, it is better to remove the first flowers so that the plant has time to get stronger and form a full-fledged bush in the ground. He will begin to bear fruit a little later than his neighbors, but in terms of productivity he will quickly catch up with them. If you leave flowers at a weak seedling, in the end it can drop the ovaries and give much less fruit.
Planting seedlings in the soil
In the video, the plants are not very densely placed – two or three sprouts per square meter of soil. Before planting seedlings in open soil or in a greenhouse, preparatory work must be carried out.
- Prepare seedling holes.
- Moisten the soil, although you do not need to get carried away with watering, marshy land will not work for cucumbers.
- Bring in fertilizer.
- Sprinkle soil on top.
Now you can start planting seedlings on the site. Turn the pot upside down and take out all the contents with your hands. The plant is placed in the hole along with a clod of soil. Then it is watered, and on top, as in the video, sprinkled with a small amount of dry soil. This procedure will prevent the formation of a crust at the landing site.
What kind of care does the planted seedlings require
In the garden, seedlings still require care. Cucumbers are very demanding on moisture. Although they need a lot of liquid, excessive soil moisture should be avoided. For watering seedlings use only warm water. The procedure should be carried out more often during the period of flowering and the formation of ovaries. If you follow these rules, the fruits will not have a bitter taste.
In addition to watering, planted seedlings require the systematic removal of weeds and the formation of bushes. In order for oxygen to reach the roots, it is necessary to loosen the soil.
Growing cucumbers with your own hands requires a lot of effort. However, if you follow the recommendations and educational videos in 2021, you can get a plentiful and tasty harvest from seeds that will delight the whole family.
